In a filing to the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the social media giant proposed legislation that would make it easier for users to transfer photos and videos to other platforms. According to Politico, CEO Mark Zuckerberg testified before the FTC over the course of two days this week. The regulator will host a workshop on September 22 to “examine the potential benefits and challenges to consumers and competition raised by data portability.” (TechCrunch, Politico)
Talking point: The FTC has been investigating Facebook for potential violations of U.S. antitrust law for the past year, one of several investigations underway including ones by the U.S. House Judiciary Committee and the Department of Justice. Data portability is considered a simple solution to mitigate social media companies’ power. In June, Facebook allowed users in the U.S. and Canada to transfer photos and videos to Google Photos for the first time. Facebook is now asking the FTC for guidance on how it can expand these efforts without violating privacy rules. “The last time we tried to do this at scale, we had Cambridge Analytica happen,” Bijan Madhani, Facebook’s privacy and public policy manager, told Bloomberg. “We want to make sure we are crystal clear on the obligations on us.”